The United Nations Security Council has extended the arms embargo on Sudan’s Darfur region by two months, but a US proposal to broaden it to the entire country was blocked by permanent members Russia and China.
The 15-member council unanimously adopted Resolution 2830 on Thursday, extending the sanctions regime until December 11 to allow more time for negotiations. The mandate of the panel of experts monitoring the measures was also extended until January 11, 2027. This is a short-term “technical rollover” after the regime was last renewed for one month on September 11.
The sanctions, first imposed in 2005, include an arms embargo on armed actors in Darfur, a travel ban, and an asset freeze on designated individuals and entities.
Despite weeks of discussion, the United States failed to secure approval to expand the embargo. Russia and China argued for maintaining the existing regime.
US Ambassador Jeff Bartos stated last month that the current sanctions regime is “over 20 years outdated, and is insufficient to address the realities of the war today,” urging the council to “expand the arms embargo across the entire territory of Sudan.” Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, Anna Evstigneeva, countered, “We will not allow even a hint of broadening the restrictions by the council on Sudan.”
Sudan’s UN ambassador, Al-Harith Mohamed, argued that a total embargo contradicts the UN Charter’s guarantee of the right to self-defence.
The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023, has resulted in at least 59,000 deaths, though aid groups warn the toll could be significantly higher. The conflict has also displaced approximately 13 million people and pushed parts of the country into famine.
The Sudanese army controls central and eastern Sudan, while the RSF holds sway in Darfur in the west and parts of the south. Darfur, a region roughly the size of Spain, has experienced some of the most severe violence, including attacks on displacement camps and repeated ethnic massacres that have killed thousands.
